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Building Teams, relationships, and Events

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I really enjoyed this Labor Day weekend. There was lots of family visiting, events scheduled, and quality time with the people I like to be around. One of the events this weekend was the Dissonance, a jazz xTet gig at Ballard Locks. And it got me to thinking about building and maintaining successful teams and organizations.

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The Dissonance is a band I've been establishing for four years. We had three new musicians for this gig. Such is often the case when you have an event on a holiday weekend. So with our new singer, sub trombonist, and new drummer, we set out to get ready for this gig. We even had a new tenor sax player visiting from Vancouver who had to leave the day before the gig because of a family emergency.

But because of the community I belong to, a community of musicians, I was able to staff the combo and have a great event. I'm very proud of this group. We are all hobbyists and have day jobs, families, and other activities. So making this combo work is no small feat.

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This band isn't for a soloist, it's about ensemble work. Most of us have an ensemble team at work that help us create successful solutions. People come and go. Emergencies happen. But the strength of your support group or community is key to the success of any venture. What are you adding to your team? Are you building relationships that are mutually beneficial and based on common goals and interests? For me, that is a labor of luv.

The Dissonance does Freddie Freeloader on YouTube.

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